Before data can be controlled, it must be found and classified

Companies around the world that are struggling to come to grips with controlling and classifying the years of data they have accumulated throughout their enterprises, are turning to automated data discovery, collection and classification tools for help.

That`s according to Derek Street, product manager at SecureData Security. He says that the biggest challenges that companies face as they try to control the data scattered throughout their systems is knowing where this data is and then classifying it to enforce restrictions about who may use the data and how they may use it.

Says Street: "Most companies have vast volumes of data spread across their systems, ranging in format from structured information in databases to reams of unstructured data such as documents, image files and even multimedia files. The data may be housed on enterprise systems in the data centre or on hard drives on end-user devices such as notebooks and desktops.

"Not knowing where all of this enterprise data is and what various files contain can create security risks since the organisation may mishandle sensitive or confidential information. Finding and securing this information without automated tools is challenging and time-consuming."

Some digital forensic tools help enterprises manage this challenge by reading and recording information about the files in the IT environment - including elements such as the type of file, when it was created and last accessed, and who has access to the file. This information allows companies to manage their data according to clearly defined risk management policies.

"Some digital forensic tools help organisations find classified data according to metrics such as type, age and value so that it can be managed according to business rules," says Street. "Organisations can then assign a level of risk or a topic to each document, so that access and use of the documents by end-users can be managed according to company policies."

E-discovery and digital forensics tools and data classification are important elements of sound information lifecycle management (ILM). ILM is a set of processes and technologies that help companies to manage data from the moment it is created to the instant it is no longer needed and can be discarded. These tools have a host of side benefits, in addition to tighter security. The tools can help IT administrators to match data to the right storage medium, get rid of duplicate files and put sound disaster recovery and back-up policies in place.

Concludes Street: "Companies are under pressure to put processes and systems in place that allow them to protect sensitive information from unauthorised access in the wake of high-profile security breaches around the world and new regulatory requirements. Against this backdrop, data classification tools, digital forensic and e-discovery tools and processes are among the most important investments they can make in protecting the integrity of their data."